Collimation is the process of aligning the mirrors in a reflector telescope. They have a large mirror in the back, called a primary, and a small mirror that reflects into the eyepiece, called a secondary. I just learned some hard lessons:
1. Do not mess with the secondary mirror unless there is a real problem. Perfect is definitely the enemy of good enough.
2. Read your instructions carefully, if you decide you must collimate your secondary. Failure to do this has dire consequences.
3. It appears that most collimation issues can be resolved by adjusting the primary, which is much easier than adjusting the secondary.
I just finished about two hours of intense pain and suffering undoing what it took me about 15 seconds to mess up. This could have been avoided.
I am truly a rank amateur, so if you vets need to disabuse me of these lessons I've learned, please do. I never want to go through this again if I don't have to.
Later edit: Most important lesson: Watch the video on collimation at www.andysshotglass.com . I just watched it and fixed the scope. It's exactly collimated now.
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